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Cole Hamels
Colbert Michael Hamels (born December 27, 1983 in San Diego, California) is a left-handed starting pitcher who plays for the Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball. Hamels throws a standard four-seam fastball, changeup, and a curveball.http://baseballanalysts.com/colehamels.png High school and draft He attended Meadowbrook Middle School and Rancho Bernardo High School in San Diego, California. According to Tony Gwynn, lots of scouts were interested in Hamels while he was pitching for RBHS because his fastball was clocked as high as 94 mph. However, he broke his arm in his junior year, so some teams, like the San Diego Padres lost interest. Nonetheless, Hamels was drafted in the first round of the 2002 Major League Baseball Draft by the Phillies. Minor league career He pitched in the Phillies minor league system starting in 2003, beginning at Single-A Lakewood. Later that season, he was promoted to Advanced-A Clearwater. However, Hamels was plagued by injuries the next two seasons, pitching only sparingly. He missed most of the 2004 season with an elbow injury. In 2005, he broke his pitching hand in a bar fight before the season began , and once he recovered, then hurt his back, and was shut down for the rest of the season. In 2006, a healthy Hamels started again at Clearwater, and after a brief stint at Double-A Reading was sent to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, where in just three games, he struck out 36 batters while giving up only one walk and one run. His minor league totals were 14–4, with 273 strikeouts in 35 games pitched. Major league career 2006 Hamels was called up to the Phillies in May . In his MLB debut on May 12, he pitched five scoreless innings in which he allowed only one hit, striking out seven batters but walking five, but earned a no-decision against the Cincinnati Reds when reliever Ryan Madson gave up a 2-run lead. In his second career start, Hamels was dominant until the seventh inning, in which he was pulled after he allowed several baserunners, but again received a no-decision. A shoulder injury scratched Hamels from the lineup of what would have originally been his third major league start. He was put on the 15-day disabled list and returned on June 6 to defeat the Arizona Diamondbacks 10–1, for his first Major League victory. On August 14, 2006, Hamels had his best start of his rookie campaign, shutting out the New York Mets over eight innings and striking out nine in the 13–0 victory. 2007 On April 21, , Hamels struck out 15 Cincinnati Reds in his first career complete game. He allowed one run on five hits and two walks, setting a career high for strikeouts. On May 16, 2007, he carried a perfect game into the 7th inning, where he walked leadoff man Rickie Weeks and then surrendered a home run to the next batter, J. J. Hardy. He struck out 11 batters in a 6–2 decision over the Milwaukee Brewers. On June 12, 2007, Hamels went eight innings to become the first National League pitcher of the season to win nine games. Hamels finished with an impressive regular season record of 15–5. On July 1, 2007, Cole was named to the NL All Star Team for the first time. On August 22, Hamels was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a mild left elbow strain. On September 28, he pitched the Phillies into first place by striking out 13 Washington Nationals over 8 innings in a 6–0 win. 2008 Before the season got underway in March, Hamels made a complaint about the Phillies underpaying him saying it was a "low blow" and was "caught off-guard" with the gap between what he and agent John Boggs felt was a fair reward for his performance last season.Baseball’s Young Stars Caught In Salary Trap : Pro Athletes Only Hamels led the Phillies throughout the first month of the season in most pitching categories, including wins (3), ERA (2.70), and innings pitched (43⅓). Continuing his dominance into May, Hamels recorded his first career complete game shutout against the Atlanta Braves on the 15th of that month. Less than one month later, Hamels followed his dominating performance with a repeat of that complete game, beating the Cincinnati Reds, 5–0 on June 5. Though the Phillies were a picture of inconsistency through June, posting a long streak of wins followed by a prolonged team-wide slump, Hamels posted a 3–1 record and a 2.61 ERA in the month. Hamels pitched in Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers, going 8 strong innings, with 9 strikeouts, while notching his first career playoff win. He was named the MVP of the NLCS by going 2-0 in the series with a 1.93 ERA, winning the series clincher on October 16, 2008 in Los Angeles. He recorded the win in Game 1 of the 2008 World Series, surrendering two runs in seven innings of work. Personal life He lives in West Chester, PA with his wife, Heidi Strobel, whom he married on December 31, 2006. Strobel was a contestant on the sixth edition of the reality show Survivor. His parents, Gary and Amanda Hamels, reside in San Diego. References External links * *Cole Hamels Slide Show *Cole Hamels Facts Category:Clearwater Phillies players Category:Reading Phillies players Category:Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons players Category:Philadelphia Phillies players Category:Major League Baseball players from California Category:People from San Diego, California Category:Major League Baseball pitchers Category:Starting Pitchers Category:Players